A Certain Unfortunate Criminal
by The Glorious Reader
Summary: Kamijou Touma, Academy Cities most unfortunate resident, shares a dark past that not even those closest to him know about. When he is thrown into the daily conflicts between magic and science, how will his past life of a criminal come to aid or haunt him? AU / Slight to Major Character Changes / Touma x ... / Rating Prone to Change
1. Entrance

**Hello Everyone, Reader Here! Leaving the notes at the bottom, so enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN A CERTAIN MAGIC INDEX**

 **Entrance**

* * *

It was late at night in the futuristic Academy City, specifically in District sixteen. The street lights illuminated the streets though few people were out at this hour. Many of the students were enrolled with many schools and academies which usually enforced a strict curfew, leading to the streets being very desolate during the late night and early morning.

The steady beat of footsteps walking down the sidewalk interrupted the heavy silence. A lone boy with spiky black hair and blue eyes held his hands in his pockets while he lazily gazed at the ground, his features hidden under the shadows. Around his neck was the strap of an over the shoulder bag that rested against his lower back.

After walking for a short while, he stopped in front of a small convenience store, reaching down to pull a piece of black fabric over his mouth and nose while also putting on a pair of shaded sunglasses. The door automatically opened and he cautiously entered the establishment.

As he expected the place was empty besides himself. There wasn't even a cashier, only an automatic register and a small cylinder shaped security robot sitting in the corner of the store. For a few minutes, he walked up and down the few isles to make absolutely sure that the store was entirely empty. Seeing that he was the only living person there, he walked up to the security robot and pulled out a beaten up black rectangular device.

Pressing a red button on the side, the device let out a small electrical discharge, incapacitating the robot and the nearby cameras as well. Working quickly the teen ran to the cash register and inserted a small USB drive into an open port. The USB lit up for a second before the cash drawer opened and he went to work. He greedily grabbed wads of cash and stuffed them into his bag before turning his attention to where the stores main safe would be located.

He rushed to the door that he assumed would lead to the stores backroom. Opening it, he spotted a sleeping security guard with a small tablet in his lap and his head positioned downward. In front of him was a series of monitors that had a message displayed saying "DISCONNECTED" on them. Stealthily he walked up to the man and slowly edged past him to get to the safe. Once he reached the safe the thief repeated what he had done to the register and its small door opened. Grabbing as much cash as the teen could handle, he heard the sounds of a moving chair and loud yawning. The thief and the security guard locked eyes for a second before the security guard took action.

"Stop! Put your-" he said while attempting to grab his stun baton. The guard stopped when the teen reached into his bag and pulled out a small pistol and took aim directly at him.

"I suggest you don't make any sudden movements or I'll shoot. Understand?" spoke the boy. The man retracted his arms and held them in the air while furiously nodding. The thief slowly moved to the guard and sent a heavy hitting punch to the man's gut that knocked him out before he hit the table. However, in doing so, caused the man's hand to accidentally hit the alarm button as he collapsed.

"Warning: Local Judgement and Anti-Skill forces have been notified. Estimated arrival time: 5 Minutes." spoke the autonomous female voice.

"Such Misfortune!" whined the boy as he threw the pistol into his bag and ran straight out of the store and into the streets outside. Already he could hear the sirens of an Anti-Skill car in the distance. He doubled his pace and ran into a nearby alleyway to throw them off his scent.

* * *

An Anti-Skill car with its sirens blaring pulled up to a convenience store and stopped. Pressing open the door, one of the officers stepped out of the car and pulled her pistol from its holster. She had short reddish hair and wore an armored Anti-Skill uniform and was armed with a heavy duty pistol. While she cautiously approached the entrance of the store, her partner held a more relaxed posture and didn't even pull out her gun when she exited the vehicle. She herself had long, snow-like hair and a pale complexion, wearing a simple officers uniform. In her holster was a standard issue firearm that most Anti-Skill officers carried.

"Why are you so on edge all the time, Mika? It's probably just another false alarm, you know?" she said lazily while she caught up with the other female officer. The girl sighed loudly before the two walked up to the store's entrance.

"I know. But you can never be too careful when on duty. You should be on alert more often. Your laziness might be your own downfall Yuki." she said while the door opened and she entered carefully. The energetic girl rolled her eyes before following her partner into the convenience store.

As she entered the place, everything appeared as if everything was normal, until she spotted that the various electronics around the store had been tampered with. Spotting the clearly damaged security bot, turned off cameras and open door to the backroom, she pulled out her gun and turned to Mika.

"Cover for me while I enter the back room," she said, turning on her serious mode. The girl nodded and took position beside the door and took aim with her pistol while peering through the door crack. The red-haired girl motioned for Yuki to enter and she kicked open the door, rushing into the room with haste.

She quickly scanned the room, seeing the safe opened and empty but spotted no intruder. The officer noted the unconscious security guard with his face planted on the desk She bent down and pulled him over, checking his pulse and any signs of wounds. Other than a few bruises, and to her guess, a few broken bones, he would most likely be fine.

"Mika, call for backup and an ambulance for him and search the premise. I'll look around the area to see if our thief is still in the area," she yelled while she ran out of the store. The more professional police officer looked as if she was going to say something but instead did what she was told.

As Yuki ran outside she stood in place outside the automatic doors. She activated her esper ability, _Sight Break_ , which allowed her to look for clues that would ordinarily be missed by the naked human eye. Seeing a faint trail of footprints on the ground she quickly began to follow them into a nearby alley. She raced around every turn and corner while dodging over trash and debris scattered about. The farther she ran the clearer the footprints became

 _'They must be close!'_ she yelled in her mind. However, soon the more the footprints became hazy and eventually she felt as if her ability had been entirely shut off.

"What... the hell...?" she questioned. She shook her head and refocused herself on tracking the criminal. The young officer heard nearby what sounded like the panting of a male. The officer pressed her back against the wall and peered around the corner. There standing was probably a teenager, who was heavily breathing while pressing his arm on a nearby wall. Blood stained his gloves and his duffel bag visibly loading him down. He must be the criminal she was looking for!

"Stop right there!" she yelled as she drew her gun. The teen quickly turned to meet her with his body giving off a look of surprise. His face was covered in a mask and a pair of sunglasses hid his eyes, and his hair hidden under a beanie. Instead of raising his hands in surrender, he reached into his duffel bag for what she assumed was a gun. Wanting to get the first shot, she pressed the trigger.

 **Thief P.O.V**

He rolled behind a nearby dumpster to avoid the gunshot. He heard the pang and saw the sparks of the bullet hitting the metal side. Looking around, he saw that his bag was too far away to try to grab his gun, so he would have to use something else. The boy saw a small broken metal pipe and grabbed it, waiting until she was close enough to attack. When she was in position, the thief jumped from cover and threw the pipe directly at her. The pipe smashed into her face and she stumbled back a few steps while she tried to recover her footing. The boy charged at her and slapped the gun out of her hand, landing in a pool of water and mud nearby.

"This guy's good..." he heard her mutter while she raised her fists. She sent a swift punch at his chest that he barely managed to dodge by pushing himself backward. The two stood in place for a moment, neither attacking or even speaking out. They just stood like two hunters, waiting for the other to make the first move.

 _"Dammit! I don't have time for this!"_ he yelled internally. The boy needed to end the fight in one swift attack, for he knew for every second he remained in that place, the more ant-skill officers would swarm the area like ants. Then he would _definitely_ be screwed.

She took the initiative by sending a punch at his neck. He dodged right of the attack and threw his fist directly into the woman's face. He nearly cringed as he heard what sounded like twigs snapping as he felt the bones in her face be crushed. The force of the attack sent her back as her body crashed to the ground with a loud thud, blood mixing with the dirt underneath. The woman tried to pull herself up, but she winced in pain each time she tried before giving up.

He didn't waste time, reaching down and grabbing his large duffel bag, hastily draping the strap over his neck and running like a mad man away from the scene. At the other end of the alley, he heard multiple footsteps of people entering the scene.

"Don't let him escape!" yelled one of them. Peering backward, he saw a small group of anti-skill officers and a member of Judgement at the end of the alley, circling around the defeated woman. One of them, a teen girl, stood at the front of the group with her right arm extended. In her hand, a small swirling ball was being formed while the others pulled out their guns. He gulped as he nearly reached the end of the alley, hoping he would be able to escape mostly unscathed. Then he heard the sounds of wind slashing behind him and the sounds of bullets being shot.

Not even turning, he simply raised his right arm when the wind attack was about to reach him. As the attacked connected, a loud noise blared as the ball disappeared in a flash. The bullets whipped past him as he escaped from the alley and continued to be chased around the city. He ran until the sounds of footsteps behind him died out and he reached a more familiar area, where he steadily made his way back to where he lived.

* * *

 **Yuki P.O.V**

The first thing Yuki felt was the odd feeling of cold metal and a massive headache when she woke up. Her fluttering amethyst eyes gazed at the cieling of the assumed ambulance while her senses slowly returned to her. The sounds of a police siren and the footsteps nearby nauseated her even more than she already was. As she tried to pull herself up, a wave of pain came over her as she was forced back onto the floor of the ambulance.

"You should stay still Yuki, that thug got you pretty good." said the high pitched voice of her partner. She merely groaned while closing her pain filled eyes.

"What's the damage report?" responded the wounded officer.

"If you're talking about yourself, you got a fractured nose, a nasty bruise and some swelling around your face. If you mean the store, then..." the girl was interrupted when Yuki raised her hand.

"It's fine, Mika. I'll read the rest in the report when, you know, my head stops pounding like I'm having a hangover..." she responded with a small smile.

"How did you let the suspect escape?!" the pair heard nearby, interrupting their conversation.

"I-I don't k-know sir, I made sure my attack was perfect..." spoke another, more timid voice. She recognized the voice as the girl who appeared on the scene when the thief knocked her out in the alley. She opened her eyes to see that the Judgement officer in question was being interrogated by their Anti-Skill commander known as Jinjii Ryuko. He was known to be a total hardass with little tolerance towards failure.

"Then how the hell did they escape, if you attack was 'perfect'?"

"I-It just disappeared! When the ball reached his right arm, it just sorta vanished into thin air!"

The stringent commander seemed unimpressed with her explanation, as he maintained his neutral face while holding his head in his hands. Sighing loudly, he shook his head and walked away to talk with another officer on the scene. The other officers who first responded to the area seem too huddle together in a small group with the dejected officer.

"You say it just disappeared? How can that be...?" spoke one.

"You know, I've heard of somebody with a power like that. Apparently, another squad of Anti-Skill in District 19 had a run in with someone with a similar, if not, the same power." spoke another nervously.

Yuki recalled her fight with the suspect just a few minutes prior. Although on the surface he seemed like your average thug, the power behind his punch and his fast thinking showed that he was at least competent fighter. That, or he was _very_ lucky. Either way, the thought of someone having the ability to cancel out other esper powers was quite a terrifying prospect. Considering that many Anti-SKill, Judgement and almost all espers mainly relied on their esper powers for combat, having their powers be useless would be greatly detrimental to their performance.

 _"It's just a pointless rumor... I should just sleep this headache away..."_ she thought while laying her head back on the ambulance floor. Although she could've sworn she heard the concerned voice of her partner, it didn't matter to the exhausted mind as she fell asleep again.

* * *

The unfortunate criminal pressed his back against the cold concrete wall as he heavily breathed in and out. His bag filled with stolen cash sat next to him, while he pulled down his face mask and took off his glasses, placing them in his pocket while dropping himself to the ground. The thief reached over and pulled the large bag and opened its contents, counting through the stacks of Yen he had managed to steal. After counting through the entire bag, he managed to estimate that he had around 23,000 yen from the combined register and safe.

He sighed while throwing the bag to the side, pressing his back against the wall while looking up at the night sky. He felt the cool summer evening breeze press against his face while various thoughts raced through his mind. This night was like many other nights for the most unfortunate resident of Academy City. He had entered into cities dark underbelly just after he was sent to the city by his father. He had seen some of the darkest things the city had to offer, and after years of dealing with the same criminal activities over and over again, had become absolutely sick of it.

When he had arrived in Academy City, he had few friends and due to his unlucky nature, had a very difficult time making them. Being in such a vulnerable state, his young mind was easily swayed to things that he would come to later regret, under the guise of helping him. Although at school he had made a few good friends, which gave him insight into his own life, even after a few years had got him to reconsider his criminal life as a whole. Though he was sure no one at his school knew of his nightly adventures.

Feeling something vibrate in his pocket, he reached down and pulled out his cellphone then scrolled through his messages. He had a message from the famed 'Iron Wall Girl' of his class, a certain busty Fukiyose Seiri, who had sent a long message reminding him to study for a test they would take the next day. Or should he say today, as it was almost four in the morning and he would need to be in school by 9 A.M.

Sighing loudly, he closed the phone and shoved it into his pocket and pulled himself up from the ground. Picking up the bag full of cash, he heaved it over his back and made his way to his student dorm. Although many would call him a hopeless moron, the one thing he felt he was good at, other than his criminal skills and his special right arm, was his ability to work with technology. Due to many complicated locks and security systems he had to go through during his time as a thief, he had become very acquainted with the art of hacking and manipulating technology. And so, he had easily hacked into the dorms camera systems to replay old footage on nights when he would go out on his jobs or heists. Though he certainly was not on the level of some electrokinesis users or expert hackers.

Reaching the door to his room, he swiped his student card and the door unlocked, pressing it open and dropping the heavy sack in a nearby closet. He put his criminal gear away as well, dressing in his signature orange shirt and a pair of shorts. He decided to eat a small sandwich to satisfy his hunger before he went to bed. With his sandwich in hand and himself sitting on the hastily made bed, he turned on the T.V and surfed through the various channels to see if anything interesting was on while eating his food.

 _"...In other news, just less than an hour ago, a convenience store in District 16 was attacked by a thief, who managed to make away with over 20,000 Yen. If you happen to run into any suspicious individuals, please note that they are considered armed and dangerous. Please report any sightings to your local Anti-Sk-"_ he turned off the T.V with the remote. Touma looks down at his right hand and squeezed into a ball, closing his eyes while laying back against the soft mattress.

"Never again..." he spoke quietly. He looked at the ceiling with a serious expression on his face. He swore in his mind that he would give up this lifestyle of being a criminal. Never would he steal, hurt or... kill.

He grimaced at the idea of killing again. That period had been the absolute darkest point that he had fallen into during his time in the dark side of Academy City. Climbing out of that hole was likely the toughest part of his entire experience of being a criminal. He shook his head and pushed those nasty thoughts aside as he closed his eyes and drifted to sleep with the sound of the howling wind outside.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! This was an idea that stemmed from my recent obsession with the series. I've been writing these criminal fics for a few different series so I thought I might try it with this one as well. As for those other series I write, they will be updated... soon... so don't worry. As always, thanks for reading, and have a good one!**

 **Next Chapter: Dawn's Shadow I**


	2. Dawn's Shadow I

**Hello Everyone, Reader Here! Next chapter of A Certain Unfortunate Criminal! Before we get into the story, let me respond to some of your reviews!**

 **Bluejack222, mervinr170 and Sergio644: Thanks for the kind words! I hope this story lives up to your expectations!**

 **Guest: Thanks for the pointers, I didn't realize some of those details before I looked at the wiki, much appreciated! To your question of whether I'll make it a lemon with Yuki and Mika, that is most likely a no. If I do, it will most likely be released as a separate story. Thanks for your understanding!**

 **I should also note that these first chapters are taking place way before Touma's first encounter with Index, so keep that in mind while reading! Thanks, and Enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN** **TOARU MAJUSTO NO INDEX!**

 **Dawn's Shadow I**

* * *

Crouched over his desk in the back of the classroom, a certain spiky-haired individual pressed his face into the comfort of his arms while waiting for the end of this seemingly endless school day. Although he was able to sleep for few hours after his nightly outing, the many instances involvinj his misforune during the day siphoned away his energy like a leech sucking blood.

When he woke up late, he realized he forgot to set up an alarm, and so he had realized he had only 10 minutes before he needed to be in homeroom. After hastily putting on his uniform, he rushed from his dorm and through District 7, nearly being killed or maimed from every source imaginable before reaching his school. Receiving a pummeling from Fukiyose Seiri after failing to convince her of his innocence, he remained in the back of the room for the rest of the day, taking the test he was reminded about the evening before and most likely failing.

He sighed loudly along with the other students at the ringing of the bell and began to raise his head from the desk when he met the disapproving look from a familiar, well endowed and violent classmate.

"You seem extra tired today Touma, what's up? Stayed up too long studying? I do assume you got that text I sent last night." she said while sitting herself down opposite from him. Contrary to her facial expression, her tone was more caring and casual than her usual aggressive personality. "Y-Yeah, Math is hard for me, even if its just for studying so I was up late..." he said sheepishly while rubbing the back of his neck and giving an awkward smile.

She just merely sighed while shaking her head, unconsciously swaying her large bosom, to which a flustered Touma turned his head away in a mix of embarrassment and fear. He would very much want to avoid another pounding from the athletic girl.

"Are you sure your okay? You loom flustered, are you sure you don't have a cold?" she asked while reaching towards his face. He fluttered his arms around wildly and pressed his back against the back of his chair. "N-No, I'm fine! I swear, I just need some sleep!" he said while trying not to sound offensive. She looked at him with a questioning look before returning to the topic at hand.

"Well, we'll see when we get our tests back," she said while he slightly gulped. At least the unfortunate boy had a running start before he would have to deal with her fury. "Y-Yeah, Well if that's it, I got to go..." he said while grabbing his bag and swinging it over his shoulder, pulling himself up from the chair, He began to leave the room when he noticed something peculiar out of the corner of his eye. The dark haired girl appeared as if she wanted to say something, but hesitated and sighed to herself before she left in the opposite direction. He merely shrugged his shoulder before continuing on his way out of the school and into the greater District along with the hordes of other students.

Crowds were certainly high on the list of things he preferred to avoid. Although it was easy for you to hide in them, it was also easy for anyone who was trailing you as well. At any moment, your life could be ended and the assailant could vanish without a trace. The chance for you valuables being successfully stolen were drastically increased under such circumstances as well. Both of which he understood well.

A strange feeling fell over him as he quickly looked around the mixed crowd of high school students and few business people. Somewhere, he could swear the eyes of someone were shooting straight through him like an arrow. Not noting anyone of suspicion, he made a quick right turn into an alley nearby to try and corner the possible follower. _"I guess I'll get groceries tomorrow..."_ he spoke mentally while maintaining his focus around him. In a stray piece of dirty broken glass, he saw a person in a dark cloak following him, the shine of what appeared to be a knife or a gun glistening from their pockets.

The boy swiftly turned to confront his stalker, his brow furrowed and confusion was set upon his features with what he saw. Despite what he had seen in the glass, there was no one other than himself currently in cramped space.

At least not to the naked eye.

In the backdrop of the setting sun, he spotted very faint lines that gave the silhouette of a human being that was slowly approaching him. The attacker likely realized that he had sensed their presence and decided to try and get a drop on him.

The person dashed towards the boy with an engraved dagger and tried to stab him. Using his instincts and his brief visage of the person, he rolled to the left of them and swept under them with his leg. Touma knocked them off their feet and they fell to the ground, and before they could retaliate, he tried to remove whatever was making this person invisible. He took his right hand and pressed it against the person as the familiar sound of _Imagine Breaker,_ his special ability, ring out across the alleyway. What followed was quite a peculiar scene if looked upon by an onlooker. Touma felt a soft sensation in his hands as he looked towards the person and gawked.

"Eh?" he said aloud. The person was a beautiful girl, probably around his age, who looked at him with blush filled cheeks. Currently, he was positioned above her with his hand on her breast, adding insult to injury was his flushed face as well and the close proximity of their faces. His own dark blue stared into the girls amethyst.

"G-Get off me!" she tried to struggle, but Touma regained his composure and in turn put all his body weight on her. Clear that she wasn't going to get loose anytime soon, she stopped tried to break free and spread herself across the ground and turned her head to the side.

"So tell me, that cloak you had there, that obviously wasn't made with technology. And just going off a hunch that wasn't an esper power, that leads me to believe that was the work of magic."

When he said that, the girl's eyes widened in shock.

"H-How do y-you known about magic?!" she nearly yelled. But instead of answering her he increased his pressure on her body.

"That doesn't matter at the moment. What matters is why did you try to stab me?!" he yelled. The boy had a very rudimentary knowledge on the topic of magic. He knew that it at least existed, as he had fought a few magicians in prior encounters during his work as an assassin, and a knew a few of the factions such as the English Puritan, Catholic and Amakusa churches along with the various magical cabals. Also that it was quite difficult for them to get past the security checkpoints as a magician in Academy City.

"I won't tell you anything, s-so if your going to kill me, just get it over with!" she hesitantly said with a hardened look. Touma looked at the girl and frowned, sighing as he shook his head and grabbed the discarded knife with his left hand. He raised the blade into the air, appearing as if he was going to end her life. She flinched as she closed her eyes, showing that she was ready to die by his hands, also noticing her curse someones name under her breath.

Touma smirked and twirled the blade in his hand to show the blunt end of the knife. She opened her eyes to see him briefly before he sent the metal slab against her head and knocked her out cold. Her entire body went limp, but the rising and falling motion of her chest afterword showed that she was indeed alive.

"Sorry, I stopped killing a long time ago..." he said quietly while he stood up and dragged the girl to a nearby wall. He propped her up against the concrete while he quickly patted her down to look for anything that could point him in the right direction of what caused her to attack him.

* * *

Yuki Niijima groaned as a fresh headache assaulted her head while she pressed a small ice pack against her forehead. The snow-haired girl sat at a small desk near an open window that gave a nice view of the district. On the screen of her computer was the page of a chat forum talking about some urban legends that existed in Academy City. She was currently on the lookout for any piece of information of a certain individual that had inflicted the wounds on her. Although she was supposed to be at her teaching post at A Certain High School, she was asked to help in the instigation into the robbery of the convenience store.

"When I find that asshole I'm going to give him a piece of my mind..." she growled as she drank from her coffee mug. That punk from the other night certainly had done a number on her. Just from a single punch to her head no less.

It pained her to admit it, but whoever pulled off that robbery from the night before was not your average thug. They had managed to disable the security cameras and even the security drone without raising any alarms, while also having the ability to hack into the cash register and safe as well. His combat abilities were also noteworthy, but there was one thing that puzzled her and the other officers at Office #16.

His ability to nullify other Esper powers.

When she had gone back through her memory, other details that she had missed in her hazy attempt to catch the suspect had returned to her, adding to the validity to the idea that the suspect could nullify esper powers. Before she came upon the suspect, she clearly felt her esper power of _Sight Break_ stop working, but didn't think anything of it at the time. That, combined with how the other officer's wind ability was canceled out, certified it in her mind that there was at least a connection. Though it mattered little if they didn't have him in handcuffs.

She placed the coffee mug on the desk and resumed her scouting of the website when a certain comment caught her eye.

 _User90212"ALEX982": Did you guys hear about that person who can cancel out any Esper power?_

 _User81172"PRESCII0": You mean about that criminal who robbed the convenience store last night? Yeah, pretty scary stuff if you ask me. Apparently, he managed to knock out an Anti-Skill officer in a single punch!_

Yuki nearly crushed the coffee mug into pieces as she gritted her teeth. Other officers currently in the same room could just feel the anger radiating from her and slightly cowered in fear. They knew just how destructive she could get when she was pissed off. She herself decided to join the conversation and began typing on her keyboard, trying to cool herself down by taking deep breaths.

 _User30098"SNOW52": Do you know anything else about him? Like any other things they've been involved in?_

She knew it was a long shot chance of getting something. But she had to try!

 _User90212"ALEX982": I heard some stories on how he was involved in the Crystal Towers and #210 Municipal incidents a few years ago. Also he apparently has had scuffles with many gangsters and thugs around academy city._

"Crystal Towers?" she whispered to herself in a shocked voice.

That was a surprise for the young officer. That event was the one that showcased how bad Academy City's dark side could be when it surfaced. When she was a member of Judgement just a year ago, when she was still in high school, they and Anti-Skill were deployed to stop an attack on a hotel in District #3 that was known as the luxurious Crystal Towers. It was a mess of terrorist organizations, criminals and assassins killing anything that moved inside the hotel, with the number of foreigners being either wounded or killed going over a hundred.

To this day no one knew why such a large scale attack composing of multiple groups and people of completely different backgrounds occurred, but it certainly put a dark stain on Academy City's, Anti-Skills and Judgments reputations. The things and images she herself remembered from that night still haunted her to this day.

The #210 Municipal Incident was something the girl was also familiar with as well. Though she was not involved personally, it was an attack on Academy Cities data storage center at the #210 Municipal building in District 1, where a lone gunman managed to infiltrate the building and destroy many records and documents stored there by the cities administration.

 _"But why would a skilled assassin be working as a common street thug?"_ she said mentally. Yuki thanked the user for the info and logged off from the computer, putting on her signature black jacket and exiting the Anti-Skill station. She had much to do at her apartment and her work at A Certain High School due to her recent overnight stay at the hospital. She truly wanted to beat that piece of shit when she got her hands on him for causing such inconveniences in her life.

* * *

Touma sat on a bench in District 3 with his arms spread out and his legs wobbling. After his run-in with the strange magician, his luck had brought him into a fight with some random punks when he accidentally stepped on their leader's foot. Then after he had beat them all up, he had to sprint all the way through District's 1 and 7 to avoid confrontation with Judgement.

"Such Misfortune," he said while sighing loudly. He pulled out his phone and pulled up the photo app and then pulled up an image from the dagger he had taken from the girl a few hours prior.

The runes and symbols appeared as a combination of both western and eastern designs, ranging from what looked like English, Germanic, Arabic and Japanese imagery. Looking at a separate photo of the hilt, he noticed what appeared to be the symbol of the organization the girl belonged to. He knew the only person who could tell him what this organization was. It was a triangle surrounded by a wreath and a few circles.

"Ah, Kamy-yan, having a bad day, are we-nya?" spoke the overtly happy voice of Tsuchimikado Motoharu. Although on the outside he appeared to be nothing but an idiot, as he was a member of A Certain High Schools trio of idiots, he was actually a spy for multiple organizations across the world as well as keeping the magic and science sides from conflict within Academy City. Touma had learned about this when he had ran into him on a job where he had fought magicians and got a the basic rundown of magic from him.

"I'm guessing you know about the incident from earlier then?" responded the boy.

"Of course! It's my job to know everything about the magic side, you know? You're going up against a real something here-nya! Apparently, this magic cabal, known as the Dawn's Shadow, is after an important magical artifact that is currently somewhere in Academy City." spoke the spy. "But what the hell do they want with me?" Touma responded.

"According to my sources, there is some sort of protective shield guarding the device, one that would require more mages than they could sneak into Academy City to destroy, so they want your right hand to dispel it. Before you ask, I don't know where they are holed up, so I'll leave it up to you to find them-nya!" responded Motoharu before he cut the call. Touma stared at the phone with a blank expression before sighing yet again.

"Why do I attract all the weirdos?" he said dejectedly. He would have to look into the 'Dawn's Shadow' when he returned to his dorm, along with going through the cash he had heisted the night prior. Just because he was going clean, didn't mean that the former thief would just waste the fruits of his labor. He closed the phone and shoved it into his pocket before returning to his dorm in district 7. While walking through the agricultural district, however, he failed to notice the pair of eyes staring at him form afar.

* * *

On a rooftop nearby, two well dressed men stood side by side, the one with blonde hair holding a pair of binoculars while the other had his hands in his pockets and a lit cigar in his mouth. People would describe them as handsome, but each appeared to have sinister features that would drive most away in fear. The man with the cigar had annoyance plastered on his face, eyeing the silhouette of their target exit beyond where they could see.

"Are you sure that's him boss?", spoke the blonde man while lowering the old binoculars, "He doesn't seem any more special than the other level zeroes in this fucking city."

"I wouldn't judge a book by its cover, Mr. Morrison. Especially that kid. I've seen first hand what that idiot can do, and I can assure you, it certainly wasn't pleasant in the slightest. He may appear as any old troublemaker, but he has killed before, also combine him with that pesky little arm of his and you get one nasty fighter. Just look what he did to Akari." he spoke monotonously while pulling the cigar from his lips.

At one time, the boy had been hired through an intermediary as an assassin during the Crystal Towers incident, along with four other hired guns and a few manipulated terrorist groups to attack the hotel. The hotel was hosting a technology conference for a few international companies, but that had been a simple front for a meeting between multiple magic cabal bosses looking to strike a deal with Academy City. Or more specifically, Academy Cities creator and current overlord.

Aleister Crowley.

A name detested by most mages who knew of his existence, he was a traitor to the former glorious Golden Dawn, which had been the worlds largest and most powerful magic cabal at the height of its power, to where the current Dawn's Shadow had spawned from. They were originally the black ops wing of the Golden Dawn, formed and trained by one of the organization's founders, Samuel Mathers. He had been regarded as the leader of the groups fanatical faction, which opposed the old traditions of the Westcott faction, in favor of using any method to obtain the groups overarching goal. To create a "magical kit" that would grant magicians endless possibilities to use their powers.

But one day, one of the organizations most promising agents, a young man by the name of the Aleister Crowley, had caused the group to collapse into a civil war between the two factions. The secret conflict tore the group apart until the survivors had agreed to stop the fighting. And so, the one proud cabal was shattered into multiple fragment groups known as the Golden Style cabals. Adding insult to injury, was Aleister's pursuit into advancing science, the arch-enemy of magic.

To prevent a possible alliance between the magic cabals and Academy City, the Dawn's Shadow organized the Crystal Towers massacre to create distrust between the two groups and to also test the waters on provoking the person thought to be one of the greatest magicians in history. That was also before he had learned that boy was the bearer of the Imagine Breaker, something that was also caused by the traitor as well.

"Well, why don't we grab him now? He obviously looks tired out, and I sure th-" the blonde said before being cut off with the black haired man raising his hand. Morrison instantly shut his mouth at the mans gesture.

"Attacking him right now, in broad daylight, will attract too much attention to us. Must I remind that we are currently in the heart of the science world? Every little thing we do will draw the suspicion of _that man._ We simply don't have the manpower to fight the beast head on, so for now, we just need to wait for the perfect time to strike. Let's return to base to plan out our strategy with the others. Also, we need to prepare the necessary tools and weapons for the upcoming battles." he spoke coldly.

The blonde man readily nodded and the two were enveloped in darkness before disappearing into thin air. Before they fully disappeared, the black-haired man spoke an ominous sentence as he was about to vanish.

"Just you wait Imagine Breaker, you will be returned to your rightful owner as the true descendants of the Golden Dawn!"

* * *

 **(Unknown Place - Unknown P.O.V)**

 _A figure stealthily moved down a hallway that was painted in blood and filled with bleeding corpses and the survivors wreathing in pain on the ground. The person, appearing to be a male and was holding a medium sized pistol that was outfitted with a long silencer on the end in his left hand. Trying to avoid the bodies with every step, the feeling of disgust rose within him at the sight of such carnage. Although some would say that he would be a hypocrite at having such thoughts due to him being a killer as well, he would argue that he only killed his target and those whom would get in his way of said target, not just shooting innocent bystanders._

 _Reaching the end of the hall, he heard the sounds of people yelling, along with gunshots and explosions in the next corridor. He slowly peeked around the corner to see a sight that shook him to his core._

 _There were stacks of dead bodies that were charred like burnt meat. He could see their pained expressions in their lifeless face, all while a man stood in the center with a maniacal look. The assassin recognized that man as one of the five targets he was hired to kill at the assembly being held at the Crystal Towers. But then, when the gunshots started ringing out and everything went to hell in the conference room, all of his targets had dispersed and forced the assassin to hunt them down one by one. All that was left was this man, then he could escape this hell and get his pay._

 _Of all his targets, this one seemed... different... than the others. Something about his insane eyes or his oppressive aura caused the boy to question the intents of his job. He was supposed to be killing corporate heads, not fucking going against high ranking espers!_

 _The boy shook his head and rounded the corner as slowly as possible. The person appeared to not have noticed him yet, so he inched closer and closer, hugging the wall to avoid detection._

 _"Well, Well, look what the cat dragged in! Another idiot looking to kill me! ME! AHAHAHA! TIME TO TURN UP THE HEAT!" screamed the man as flames began circling around him. The boy cursed while he aimed his shot directly at the man. Wanting to test the flames, he pulled the trigger and the bullet fired silently due to the attached suppressor. The bullet flew to its targets until it was engulfed into the flames and was disintegrated into ash._

 _"YOU THOUGHT THAT WOULD ACTUALLY WORK?! YOUR JUST LIKE THOSE FOOLS THAT CAME BEFORE. TIME TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS TO THOSE WHO MESS WITH ME!" he spoke as the fire surrounding him began to shoot out in a long flaming tendril._

 _The person simply raised his right hand and when it came into contact with the limb, the strand of flame dissipated as the sound of shattered glass rang out. The man stood in complete shock, absolutely stunned that his attack was repelled by a simple flick of a hand. Seeing that his target was distracted, the boy fired the pistol again, this time the bullet hit its mark._ _It tore through the mans chest, the crazed man coughing out a large amount of blood in response. He fired another shot, but it was stopped by the fire before it could hit him. The wounded flame user quickly dug into the wound with his bare hands and pulled out the bullet and cauterized it with his fire._

 _"DAMN IT, H-HOW DID... YOU... DO... THAT? NOTHING CAN STOP MY FLAMES... *cough* nothing..." he spoke weakly while more blood presumably filled his lungs. The man sent out another attack but met the same result. Then he did it again. And Again. And Again. Every time the mage tried a new direction of attacking or using another type of attack, it all ended with it being dispelled by the persons right hand. Over the course of the next two minutes, each side attacked, with a new bullet hitting the fire wielder in a new spot with every bout._

 _"H-How c-can t-that stop my... magic...?" he said while kneeling. The toll of the battle had obviously been too much to handle for him. His flame no longer surrounded him, and he grew weaker with every breath. The boy's eyes rose when he had heard the man refer to his power as magic rather than an esper power._

 _"He's probably just delusional..." spoke the boy as he approached the downed man. When he was at arm's length, he lowered the pistol to the man head and the two locked eyes for a brief second._

 _"B-Before you k-kill me, tell me... one thing...", he said faintly, "...what ...what is that power in your right arm?"_

 _"The Imagine Breaker." he swiftly responded before pulling the trigger..._

Touma nearly screamed as he awoke while covered in sweat and heavily panting. He looked around his dorm with his dazed eyes before he tried to calm himself.

"It's just a nightmare... It's in the past... I need to calm down..." he said while rubbing the sweat off his face with his hands.

His traumatic past was something that was hard for him to forget. It was a past he greatly regretted and certainly something he wasn't proud of. But he would be the first to admit that he brought this onto himself. His own greed had caused him to fall into the darkest pits of Academy City. That's why he had stopped killing and slowly put an end to his thieving ways, while trying to atone for his killings by helping other in need. By fighting thugs and protecting the innocents, he thought he would be able to wipe away the blood on his hand.

His consciousness had other plans though.

 _He would have to live the rest of his life knowing he was a murderer._

 _He would have to relive those horrible memories almost every time when he fell asleep._

 _He will always remember the faces of those he killed._

 _Never would he be able to live the life of a normal teenager._

Touma sighed loudly before pulling himself up from the bed. He knew that any attempt at trying to fall asleep after his nightmares would be a futile attempt. He would spend the hours before going to school reading the latest edition of his favorite manga, watching T.V, even going out on his balcony to breath in the fresh air. But in the back of his mind, his dream would plague to his thoughts for the rest of his day.

* * *

 **There you go folks! Hope you enjoyed it! To be honest with ya'll, I actually didn't know where I was going with this story after the first chapter. But this idea popped into my head after some serious brainstorming and a multitude of revisions (And also exuberant amounts of time scouring the wiki!). With this, however, I know have a more general idea on how I want this story to progress. If you have any ideas or feedback, post a review or send me a PM! As always, thanks for reading, and have a good one!**

 **Next Chapter: Dawn's Shadow II**


	3. Dawn's Shadow II

**Hello Everyone, Reader Here. Been a while, I know, but here's a consolation in the form of a new chapter! More notes on the bottom!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN** **TOARU MAJUSTO NO INDEX!**

 **Dawn's Shadow II**

* * *

The mysterious man known as Aleister Crowley, the general superintendent of Academy City, floated within the confines of his life support tank while looking over the various screens displayed on the glass walls. This prison of red liquid and wires was the nerve center of the most advanced city on earth, possibly the center of science itself. It was where the silver-haired man had strategist and enacted his many plans in preparation of his final goal.

The usually emotionless man appeared annoyed at the reports of a _'mysterious'_ group of _'unidentified espers'_ infiltrating the city and performing violent attacks in the various districts. Aleister knew better than most of the ignorant masses of science. He knew all too well of magic real existence in the world. He wasn't once called the most power magician in the world for nothing. But on the flip side of that exact coin was how magic had taken the lives of those closest to him, filling him with hatred for the art he was once known for.

Although he was used to magic cabals trying to attack the city in attempts to weaken science, this particular group was one that had interfered with his plans on multiple occasions. Even before establishing Academy City he had battled with this group, known as the Dawn's Shadow, both before and after the Golden Dawns civil war in early twentieth century London. This particular instance was, however, unique to the usually reclusive cabal. The group usually had acted through proxies, such as during the Crystal Towers Massacre, rather than directly involving themselves. That signaled to him that they were doing something serious.

The Imagine Breaker.

The power to nullify all forms of supernatural abilities, whether they had been magical or esper in origin. The power was originally held by an artifact known as the Blythe Road's Treasure, the arm of a saint that was fashioned into an arrow. He had stolen the artifact to in order to fight the Golden Dawn and was destroyed when he confronted his former master, the power-crazed Samuel Mathers. That same power had coincidentally manifested itself in its current form of Kamijou Touma's right hand.

Although the boy had interfered with his plans on multiple occasions in the past, he was a valuable resource he intended to extort to its fullest. The Imagine Breaker served its purpose for Aleister before, and it will do so again. He was sure that the Dawns Shadow was here to collect the Imagine breaker for themselves and also the _other_ little secret he had stowed away. Even he wasn't sure how they had learned that he was currently in possession of it, though it mattered little in the long term.

"My plans always work out in the end. Changing one thing is as trivial as placing a rock in the middle of a stream of water. It may redirect the flow for a period of time, but eventually, they will reconnect at the end. Now, let's see how the Imagine Breaker will deal with one such rock."

While saying that the image of the teen in question appeared on the side of his life support capsule. On another screen, the visage of two familiar men was also visible as Aleister smirked. Time to see if the boy had any merits to be included in more of his plans.

* * *

Touma pressed his back against the glass window of a small convenience store within Academy Cities most well known shopping center. In his hand was a small cup of black coffee and had his phone in the other. He had decided to use his day off from school to investigate the mysterious magic cabal that was out for his life. Or should he say, his right arm?

After he returned to his dorm after the incident with the magician, he had down some research online into this group, though had only come up with a few hits. According to the online sources, there was an old group known as the 'Golden Dawn', a secret society that had focused on researching the occult in London, United Kingdom. Apparently, the group had a dispute and it fell apart after a mysterious incident tore them from the inside out. Other than a few other sources that were more based on wild conspiracy theories, he had very little to work with.

The former criminal assumed that this Dawn's Shadow was most likely a continuation of the Golden Dawn, or a group trying to recreate them. Falling back on the information from Motoharu, they were currently seeking an artifact located within Academy City and that they required his Imagine Breaker to access it.

There were many questions left unanswered, however. Why was this magical artifact located within Academy City? The city was not very accommodating to anything of the arcane, so if such an important item was indeed in the city, why here of all places? Where were they holed up? How many magicians did they have? What were they planning to do with said artifact?

"Such misfortune..." he said aloud while taking a sip from his coffee. When he reviewed his surroundings, however, he immediately noticed there was something off. There wasn't even a single person around him on the usually busy Sunday. When he looked back into the store, where he knew he saw multiple people earlier, there was no one to be found.

"Looks like he isn't totally hopeless..." said the cold voice nearby. When he turned, he saw a man with dark black hair that was neatly combed back. Next to him was a more rugged blonde haired man who looked especially annoyed. "Can we get this over with? We have things to do and places to b-" spoke the man before the raven-haired man punched him in the gut.

"Learn your place. Or do I need to beat it into you?" he said menacingly. Touma felt a sweat drop while he stared at this interaction with a blank expression. "N-No sir." responded the man as he straightened himself of while brushing the dirt from his shirt.

"I assume your from this Dawn's Shadow I've heard about?" said the boy off the bat. The man squinted his eyes and his cheeks hardened while his posture became more rigid. "I see you are well informed. Indeed, we are the descendants of the Golden Dawn, the Dawn's Shadow. And for us to return to our former glory, we require an artifact that had been stolen from us by a traitor."

"And you need my arm to get to it?"

"You're partially correct. Though I'm surprised you managed to learn that, there are actually two artifacts that we need..." he said darkly while reaching into his pocket. Touma blinked in confusion before he realized what the man was talking about. They were going to take his arm by force, it seemed.

The man whipped a piece of paper with a rune carved into it from his coat and held it high in the air. "Darkness, as black as night, I call upon you to envelop my foe in an eternal void!" he yelled. Instantly Touma's vision filled with nothing but darkness. Around he heard the footsteps of the two men charging him from either side. He tried to defend himself but the punch from one of them connected with his face while a kick sent him backward.

Touma pressed his right hand against his face and the darkness was instantly slashed away as the sound of shattering glass resounded in the desolate mall. He was just able to duck under the blonde man's dropkick before he pushed himself away from his attackers. The dark haired boy reached into his pocket and pulled out his small pistol and fired a few pot shots at the two magicians. He had a hunch that he would be attacked today, so he had brought the gun with him to be safe. Although he abstained himself from killing, that didn't mean wounding them would be out of the question. Through his many gunfights Touma had become quite proficient with firearms, to the point where he could shoot to wound specific points of the body rather than kill.

The men dodged the gunshots while Touma charged at the assumed leader with his right hand extended. Just before his fist could collide with the man's face, his entire being was engulfed in blackness. The dark void quickly moved away from him and re-materialized as the raven-haired man just a few feet away, annoyance clear as day on his face. The man's blonde assistant pulled a small dagger and used the same teleportation method to close the distance between them and went on the attack with quick and calculated slashes. Meanwhile, the leader stood nearby chanting the words to a spell, though he couldn't make out what he was saying.

When the man armed with the knife went for a lunge, Touma sidestepped the attack and plunged his right fist into his gut. While the blonde man was stunned, Touma reached out and grabbed the mans arm and then sharply raised his right leg and smashed it the man's elbow. The pain too much for the blond man to bear, he howled and pain dropped the knife onto the ground. Touma then sent a powerful punch to his face that sent falling backward and flat onto the floor. Just as he was about to level his pistol at the remaining man, the leader let out a roar and summoned multiple rotating black orbs.

"Cut him down!" the leader yelled as the orbs began quickly moving towards him. Touma managed to block one of the orbs with his right arm, but another managed to hit its mark. The dark globe hit Touma with immense force that knocked the wind out of him and sent him to the ground wincing in pain. He tried to push the pain to the back of his mind as he stood up and blocked an orb then quickly ducking under another that was sent his way. The ball sped by him and crashed through the front window of some unfortunate cafe.

Seeing that the mage was out of these strange orbs Touma aimed his pistol at the leader and fired a round that pierced his shoulder. He let out a groan as the blood spilled from the wound and down his suit. Strangely, the man let out a slight chuckle before he began to speak while grasping the bullet wound.

"Not bad kid. Not bad at all... for a warm up. But for now, we need to put off our little fight before my spell ends and everything returns to normal. But mark my words boy, your arm will be ours soon enough..." he said begrudgingly while raising his right, Touma noticing a dribble of blood spilling from his lips. The former assassin pulled the trigger again but realized the magazine was out of bullets.

 _'Damnit!'_ yelled the spiky-haired boy in his mind while he dug into his pocket for another magazine. But before he could even pull it out of his pocket the two were enveloped in darkness and were gone. Touma quickly placed the empty handgun in his pocket as he felt the space around him warp, feeling his vision blur and his senses dull for a brief moment. Then the feeling went away and he looked around, the mall returning to its normal state with a bustling crowd of shoppers and students. Any signs of the previous battle between him and the magicians were also erased as well.

"What... the hell?" the teen muttered to himself softly in astonishment. He knew that magicians could be powerful, but those two had pushed him pretty far. Although he was not nearly at his pique performance from his assassin days, Touma would certainly not classify himself as a pushover. He was also curious as to how they had not only managed to clear away everyone from the mall but also reverse the damage from their fight. But at the end of the fight, he saw that the leader seemed to be hurting from some other wound other than the gunshot Touma inflicted on him.

 _'Might be a side effect from using too much magic?'_ he questioned internally. He knew that one of the limitations of magic was the use its fuel, mana, which came from a persons life force.

 _'My life is getting too complicated... such misfortune...'_ Touma wept internally. He felt the adrenaline of the fight leave his system and his limbs tire from the battle with the mage duo. Tomorrow he would need to talk to Tsuchimikado about his encounter when he went to school. Letting out a loud sigh, Touma left the mall and returned to his dorm for the rest of the day to catch up on his school work.

Only God would know how bad his grades were.

And his teachers, of course.

* * *

"That's quite troubling-nya, attacking you broad daylight? Even under the effects of a spell, that's not like them to do that."

Touma sighed at Tsuchimikado's response while resting his head against his arms while closing his eyes. The class was mostly empty, with a sparse amount of people sitting down or just standing in small groups chatting. The lecture had yet to start, as such Touma and Tsuchimikado were able to discuss such events without fear of being overheard. Opening his eyes Touma gave his shoulders a slight shrug.

"Well, they did. And they certainly weren't any ordinary messenger boys either. I might've been screwed if I wasn't carrying a piece with me," teen said while feeling an ache from a spot where one of the strange shadow balls had hit him. The blonde spy frowned while he reached down for his phone.

"I can tell. What did they look like?"

"There was a blonde man with a temper like our resident Iron Wall Girl..." Touma said while hoping said girl, who was currently idling in a nearby seat, didn't hear him, "... and another man with combed black hair. Seemed to me that the guy with black hair was the leader while the blonde was the grunt."

The blonde haired spy paused to think for a moment while the seats around them began to quickly be filled. It seemed that class about to start as the blue-haired Arogami appeared through the door with his usual aloof posture.

"I'll talk to my sources if there have been any irregularities in the Academy City visitor list. But looks like the class is starting now, we'll talk later. Apparently, Komoe sensei has a big announcement today-nya!"

Touma tilted his head in confusion at Tsuchimikado's words as the pink haired teacher entered the room with a stack of papers in hand. Shortly after, another person walked into the class and Touma's eyes enlarged at the sight of the person. A person with oddly familiar long white-hair and a bruised face with a large bandage taped over their right cheek entered Touma's sight.

 _'It's that Anti-Skill officer from when I cleaned out that convenience store!'_ yelled the spiky-haired teen in his mind. He felt a slight chill go through his system and began to sweat. Had they managed to trace him? He was pretty good at removing evidence from a crime scene, but had he slipped up?

"Good morning, class! Today we have a new guest starting from now on. Please introduce yourself, Yuki-chan." cheerily spoke the small teacher in her childlike voice. The woman nodded while stepping in front of the class. She was wearing a clean women's business suit and had her snow-like hair tied into a ponytail.

"My name is Yuki Nijima. I'll be working as your assistant teacher from now on, so please ask if you need any help. I'm also a member of Anti-Skill, and also a former member of Judgement, so if you have questions about those I'd be happy to answer. I hope we all can get along!" energetically spoke the snow-haired girl who gave a grin. Touma squinted his eyes at the girl while all the other males in the class gave a love-struck look to the beautiful newcomer while Tsuchikimado, who seemed to notice his odd face, gave Touma an inquisitive look.

"Someone you know?" curiously whispered the blonde to the spiky-haired teen.

"Look at her cheek and take a guess," said Touma while dropping to his familiar position. Realization set in for Tsuchikimado as he gave Touma a grin.

"Man, you surely do have the worst luck-nya!"

"Such misfortune..."

* * *

In a rundown apartment in district 19, there was an almost unbearable silence for the few occupants that inhabited it. There were exactly five people, three males and two females who were all scattered across the main room. The girl with purple eyes, known as Akari, laid on a spread out mattress while being attended by an unknown woman with shoulder length blue hair and aqua eyes. The blonde and black haired mages each stood opposite from each other at the kitchen counter while the unspoken green haired man dressed in a simple tee shirt sat on a ripped up couch.

"That boy sure is a lot more frightening than he seems..." meekly spoke the green haired teen, trying to break the awkward silence that had formed.

"Well, thanks for the observation, Mr. Smartass! Surely, you should get an award for your detective skills, Ninji-san," spat the blonde haired man.

"Lay off the boy, Morrison. We don't need to be bickering with each other as Aleister Crowley starts to tighten the noose around our necks, made worse by the fact that we failed to get the Imagine Breaker." the raven-haired man said while sighing. Kamijou Touma had been a better fighter than even he had imagined, with the boy wounding him with a bullet and also beating down Eric.

"At least, without a doubt, we can confirm that the boy has the Imagine Breaker. And also we now know the location to our second artifact, making it a simple grab and go." the blue-haired woman said while she finished tying the bandages to Akari.

"Its never that easy, Hisao. That boy showed that he's more than capable in taking on us on, plus even if we do get his arm, we'd have one hell of a time getting to the second objective." the black haired man countered.

"So what do you say we do, Kleine ? Just run away with our tails between our legs?" questioned Eric. Kleine just gave a smirk while reaching down to pull out a cigar.

"No. We are too far in to pull out now. Even if we could there would be no reason to. Tell me, what is the biggest obstacle in out plans?"

"Getting the imagine breaker to the site of the artifact?"

"Correct. Once the Imagine Breaker is in our possession, Crowley will almost certainly send everything he has to stop us. But what, instead of taking the boys arm to the artifact ourselves...", he paused to breathe in the tobacco and exhale, "... but instead, Kamijou Touma brings it there instead."

The other people in the room seemed unsure of their black-haired leader's words.

"What do you mean, Kleine?" Hisao asked.

"It's as it sounds. We attack the facility where the holy relic is being guarded, secure it, and draw that boy straight to us. There we will corner him and use his arm to break the barrier guarding the relic. It's that simple."

"But what the hell can we do that will draw him to that place?"

"I can think of a few ways, but none of them are things I'm particularly fond of. But in the face of finding one of the most coveted relics of Christianity, everything must be sacrificed, even my morals if need be..." spoke Kleine vaguely while pulling out a large image from one of the bags on the kitchen tabletop. It appeared to be the head of an ancient spear that was encased in a transparent box while surrounded by a globe of menacing blue mana.

"... the real Spear of Longinus..."

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed, review if you have any ideas or questions. Thanks!**

 **Next Chapter: Dawns Shadow III**


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